It is known to secure cargo against movement during shipping by wrapping a strap around the cargo and then placing the strap under tension. A device known as a cargo control buckle is known for use in this arrangement. A cargo control buckle secures opposed ends of the strap by engaging loops in the strap and passing portions of the strap over each other so that they must move in opposite directions to loosen or tighten the strap. These portions are urged against each other by the tension on the strap. Thus, the frictional force between the portions of the strap retains the tension on the strap. One such buckle includes a base having four, essentially parallel pins. The pins are fixed to the base, and the ends of the strap are wound around the pins to provide the desired engagement between the strap portions.
The pins in the known buckles are permanently fixed to the base, and this presents several disadvantages. First, application of the strap to the buckle requires the strap to be cut from the roll of strap material. This is because the ends of the strap must be laced around the pins in the proper arrangement before it can be tightened. When the strap is tightened, however, a significant length of the strap material is recovered. This length of strap material represents waste because it is discarded after tensioning of the strap. Also, detachment from the cargo requires that the strap be cut because the buckle provides no means for release of tension. This also results in waste of strap material because the strap is necessarily shortened by its cutting.